Otomobil Tutkunu: Feb 21, 2010

2011 Lotus Elise revealed ahead of Geneva debut

Lotus has decided to give the Elise a facelift and this is the final product. Lets go over the key changes in regards to the design. The most significant change is the new headlight design which is part of a revised front fascia. The headlights are now combined with LED daytime running lights and LED direction indicators.

Over at the rear, the vents which were placed at the side of the outer taillights in the previous version have been removed. The rear bumper has been restyled and there is also a new engine cover.

The Elise’s aerodynamics efficiency has been improved as well, by 4%. There are also new alloy wheels. The company also revealed that it has increased the Elise’s warranty period from 2 years to 3 years and 36,000 miles.

All three engines offered with the Elise now output lesser emissions. The 136 PS 1.6 liter outputs 155 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer followed by the 192 PS 1.8 liter with 196 grams and lastly the 220 PS supercharged 1.8 liter with 199 grams. The above mentioned 1.6 liter powerplant is a new entry-level unit and it features Valvematic and Dual VVT-I technologies.

Other upgrades include a new 6-speed close ratio gearbox and the availability of cruise control which is part of the Touring Pack. Potential buyers will also be able to open the rear boot from the interior instead of making do with a separate key.

You can check out more images after the jump together with a detailed press release with more technical details on the new Elise.

Volkswagen reveals the 178hp Polo GTi!

Volkswagen has finally unwrapped the all new Polo GTi. This high-performance Polo has a supercharged 1.4 liter TSI engine under its hood which is able to crank out 178hp at 6,200 revs and 249Nm of torque from as low as 2,000 revs.

This enables the mini GTi to hit 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and it will continue till it reaches 225 km/h. That’s actually pretty decent as anything below 8 seconds starts getting fun. Fuel consumption is figured at 47 mpg on a combined cycle.

The engine in paired with the company’s 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, fondly known as DSG. The hot super mini also has an XDS electronic differential system which is part of the standard ESP system. The Polo GTi is treated to new springs and dampers which bring the hatch lower by 15 mm.

Exterior wise it has a honeycomb grille with red strips, a subtle bodykit, new headlights with the option to add LED daytime running lights and a pair of chrome-tipped exhaust pipes at the back. It sits on 17-inch alloy wheels which are also found on the Golf GTi.

Inside you will find a flat-bottomed steering wheel with paddle shifters, aluminium pedals, front sports seats finished in tartan trim, gloss black trim on the centre console as well as a black headliner.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.

Citroen DS3 Racing limited to 1000 units

Here’s a hotter version of the Citroen DS3 that the French company will debut at the Geneva show in early March, limited to just 1,000 production units. The car is rather unimaginatively called the Citroen DS3 Racing and gets its 1.6 liter BMW-PSA Prince engine boosted up to 200 horsepower, up from the original 156hp unit installed in the stock DS3. Torque gets upped to 275Nm from 240Nm.

Citroen achieved the 200 horses with remapping the turbo and ECU control, “modified and optimized powertrain components” (oh such detail) and installed a special tail pipe and exhaust muffler. To cope with the extra power, brakes have been upgraded to 4-pot calipers at the front and all four wheels get new discs, including drilled discs for the rear.

The steering has also had some updates to be more “precise” and to suit the new larger tyros. The suspension gets stiffer springs, adapted front and rear shocks to handle the increased power, front and rear track gets widened by 30mm, and the car gets lowered by 15mm. Finally, the ESP programming has been updated to suit the new components.

BMW Performance kits for the BMW X6

The many BMW X6 owners here in Malaysia have something new to look forward to this year – new aesthetics and performance accessories from BMW Performance available for retrofit on their cars.

The aesthetics upgrade called the BMW Performance Aerodynamics Kit features a new front bumper, side sill, and an insert for the rear bumper. Optional are a rear spoiler, rear fins finished in matte black and a front grid finished in high-gloss black. The side view is enhanced by huge 21 inch BMW Performance light-alloy wheels with a Y-spoke design done in a twin-tone finish – a glossy outside surface and Ferric Grey paintwork between the rims.

BMW claims each wheel is about 1.5kg lighter than a conventional wheel of the same size thanks to special production methods. The wheels exact size s are 10Jx21 at the front with 285/35R21 tyros and 11.5Jx21 at the rear with 325/30R21 tyres. That’s bloody wide – its front wheels are wider than my 5-er’s 265 rear wheels! Finally, you can equip a sports exhaust system which features chrome-plated tailpipes which are lighter, reduce exhaust backpressure and offer a sportier sound.

The Performance Power Kit is available for the two petrol-powered versions of the X6. The xDrive35i engine’s output is increased from 306hp/400Nm up to 326hp/450Nm, which is equivalent to the Power Kit upgrade that we’ve seen on other models that are equipped with the N54 twin turbo engine. The xDrive50i model gets its 4.4 liter V8’s twin turbo engine boosted up by 41hp and 50Nm so post-upgrade it makes 448hp and 650Nm of torque. These power increases boost 0 to 100km/h acceleration time for both models by approximately 0.2 seconds.